Death of Ben-Hadad

⁷ Then Elisha went to Damascus, and ^(A)Ben-Hadad king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, “The man of God has come here.” ⁸ And the king said to ^(B)Hazael, ^(C)“Take a present in your hand, and go to meet the man of God, and ^(D)inquire of the Lord by him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this disease?’ ” ⁹ So ^(E)Hazael went to meet him and took a present with him, of every good thing of Damascus, forty camel-loads; and he came and stood before him, and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this disease?’ ”

¹⁰ And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover.’ However the Lord has shown me that ^(F)he will really die.” ¹¹ Then he ^[a]set his countenance in a stare until he was ashamed; and the man of God ^(G)wept. ¹² And Hazael said, “Why is my lord weeping?”

He answered, “Because I know ^(H)the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: Their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword; and you ^(I)will dash their children, and rip open their women with child.”

¹³ So Hazael said, “But what ^(J)is your servant—a dog, that he should do this gross thing?”

And Elisha answered, ^(K)“The Lord has shown me that you will become king over Syria.”

¹⁴ Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me you would surely recover.” ¹⁵ But it happened on the next day that he took a thick cloth and dipped it in water, and spread it over his face so that he died; and Hazael reigned in his place.